1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to toilet cleaning devices, particularly to devices for automatically delivering a bleach component into toilet water.
2. Description of Related Art
Nearly every consumer is familiar with the necessary but undesirable task of cleaning the toilet. In an effort to improve the cleanliness of the toilet bowl and water contained therein, particularly between cleanings, various devices for automatically cleaning the water contained within a toilet bowl have been developed. Some of the toilet cleaning devices are placed in the tank of the toilet and others are designed to be placed in the bowl of the toilet. One common problem of many of these toilet water cleaning devices or tablets is that they employ an oxidizing or bleaching agent which may be incompatible with a fragrance or dye composition. Consequently, it is known in the art to make toilet rim hangers with a fragrance and/or dye composition which remains physically separated from a bleach containing composition. Similarly, some tablets have two components where one half contains the bleaching composition and the other half contains a dye, fragrance, surfactants (e.g. 2000 Flushes® Blue Plus Bleach, Clorox® Automatic Toilet Bowl Cleaner Bleach & Blue, etc.).
The art also discloses floating devices adapted for diffusing soluble substances in the bathing water, pools and hot tubs. Such disclosures include JP-63099006-A which discloses a sealing bag comprising a bathing agent and which is capable of uniformly diffusing the bathing agent into bath hot water; JP-09141254-A which discloses a synthetic resin mold for fragrances the hot water remaining in the bath; JP-56013076-A which discloses a bath perfuming implement comprising a perfume container associated with the lower part of a floating member and a porous part fitted to the perfume container part wherein the arrangement also includes an oleophilic substance applied to the floating member and adapted to remove dirt comprised of fatty materials floating on the surface of the bath water; and WO 00/67704 which discloses a container suitable for cosmetics, fragrances and the like wherein the container itself is formed from sodium bicarbonate and an acid, or from soap, and which therefore rapidly disperses in bathing water. U.S. Pat. No. 6,944,889 to Hill teaches a floating device with separate chambers for dispensing volatile and soluble substances at the same time.
While existing devices may be helpful in improving the cleanliness of the water contained within a toilet bowl, a continuing need for improved devices remains. Although the prior art provides useful teaching in the field of fragrancing water, or adding multiple additives to the water by means of a floating single or multi-chambered device, there remains a need for a device that can float in a consistently upright position and/or right itself if submerged briefly so that the volatile composition remains substantially above the waterline and the cleaning composition remains at least partially below the waterline.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a dual action dispensing device which is able to act at the interface of a liquid with a gas and dispense a volatile substance into the atmosphere whilst simultaneously or sequentially dispensing a soluble cleaning substance into the liquid. It is a further object of this invention to provide dispensing devices which can maintain an upright orientation in where there is pressure to submerge and/or capsize the device in the liquid. Not only does this invention provide a dual action benefit but it also enables the benefits to be delivered over a longer period of time than has been possible to date and enables the delivery of a superior rendition of the fragrance such that more complex, subtle and delicate fragrances can be delivered than has been possible previously.